The Kansas City Chiefs tendered a contract offer to Exclusive Rights Free Agent (ERFA) RB Derrick Gore back in mid-March. Gore officially signed his contract tender per the NFL’s personnel notice for Thursday, meaning he’ll be back with the team for the 2022 NFL season.
If you’re unfamiliar with ERFAs, they are veteran free agents who have yet to accrue three seasons in the NFL. Instead of becoming an unrestricted free agent that can sign with any team, their current club holds exclusive negotiating rights. If they’re tendered a qualifying contract offer by their team prior to free agency, they can’t refuse said offer to become an unrestricted free agent. They can only reach free agency if a team declines to extend a qualifying offer.
Gore caught on with Kansas City in February of 2021 when he first signed a reserve/future deal with the team. He was a standout during training camp and the preseason at the onset of the 2021 NFL season, but he didn’t make the 53-man roster outright. Gore was called up to the active roster from the practice squad when Clyde Edwards-Helaire suffered an MCL sprain in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills.
Gore stuck on the roster for the remainder of the season, recording 51 carries for 256 yards and two touchdowns. He accrued one credited season and has just one throughout his NFL career. That means he’ll earn an $825K minimum salary in 2022, should he make the 53-man roster this year. Right now, with just Edwards-Helaire and Ronald Jones as key players at the position, it looks like he’ll have a pretty good chance to make the 53-man roster in 2022.
